Darkness On The Water
by Shadow.Broken.Love
Summary: A mysterious prophecy has been revealed.  Will the Clans be able to handle the death that has been foretold to shatter the island on which they live?  reviews much appreciated!
1. Prolouge & Chapter One

Prologue

Cedarstar padded slowly and steadily to the entrance of the medicine cat's den. The dried bramble that hung from the entrance latched onto his nose angrily, and a sneeze escaped his parted jaws. His eyes started to water a little, presumably from the scratch of the plant; so, he rubbed one of his large paws over it as lightly as he could; but, it made his nose feel like it was on fire. He decided he wouldn't do that again, especially not with dirty paws. Quietly, he stuck his head inside the den, trying to dodge the bramble this time around. A soft purr emanated from deep within his throat as he watched the two medicine cats of ShadeClan and Yarrowclan working so effortlessly and peacefully, together.

Gorsewhisker's ears pricked and he looked over sharply as Cedarstar entered the den. His eyes held a wild, terrified look, making Cedarstar take an unsure paw-step back. He was about to ask what was wrong, but Gorsewhisker cut him off, "Cedarstar, I and Cottenstem must talk to you," he looked over at Cottenstem quickly and she dipped her head in response. "There has been a prophecy, sent to the Clans to help anticipate a great change. It seems to be why Starclan has driven YarrowClan out of their home."

Gorsewhisker trembled slightly, his eyes claiming a distant, far-away look. He bowed his head to Cedarstar and spoke again, quiet so no cats in the clearing could over hear, "All will become one as death raises its ugly head. The one that falls will fall hard; and, the one who stretches far beyond the others will thrive in the ashes and tears of the deceased. More will come as the Island expands and makes the Clans parish. Darkness will appear over the sea and claim all life as its quest for blood rises."

Cottenstem's eyes grew rounded and large, "We have no idea who or what the prophecy is referring to; but, this is certain: the Clans will never be the same." Gorsewhisker swept his tail over Cottenstem's paws, seeming to try and reassure her. Her pristine, white pelt was spiked all over and her eyes were dark with worry. Cedarstar licked the top of Cottenstem's head and murmured, "We will be ready for this, no matter what happens."

Chapter One

As Cedarstar wobbled slowly out of the leader's den, he noticed that the over populated mess, his Clan, ShadeClan, was already up and about due to the loud and obnoxious birds that the NoFurs call "roosters". As he walked into the clearing, his little brother, Grimpaw, limped over sadly. His head was down and small whimpers pushed through his gritted teeth. Cedarstar sat down and brushed his tail down Grimpaw's spine. Grimpaw whispered, his teeth gritted in pain, "Cedarstar? Honeypaw pushed me off of the Highrock. We were just playing at first, she must not have been able to tell I was hurt, because she jumped down and landed right on my leg."

Cedarstar's eyes hardened angrily and he sniffed Grimpaw's lifted paw lightly, "What is wrong with it?"

Grimmpaw whimpered, "Cottenstem thinks that it's broken."

Cedarstar held back a yowl at the back of his throat, not wanting to alert the cats that were milling about the area. He stomped over to the YarrowClan leader's temporary resting place and jabbed a paw aggressively into the black tom's flank. A pained huff escaped the cat, and his eyes blinked open slowly. He rolled his eyes as they focused onto Cedarstar and he sighed, "What do you want? I was having the most beautiful dream…"

Cedarstar slammed his paw down onto Nightstar's throat, cutting off the tom's comment. "You need to control your Clan, Nightstar," Cedarstar hissed, "You're going to be the end for my Clan! If these new cats are going to come, why don't they come now? All my apprentices and kits come to me with complaints of your cats hurting them. I'm sick and tired of it!"

Cedarstar lifted his paw off of Nightstar as his ears flattened against his head. He snarled, "It's not my fault that your cats are too weak.

Lavapool, Badgerstripe, and Smokewhisker heard the leaders bickering and stalked over to Cedarstar's side, as if ready to pounce at his order. Cedarstar's fur started to ripple along his spine and he hissed in Nightstar's face, "It isn't your fault that your warriors hurt my warriors, but you're purposely bringing on a fight, Nightstar. And if you want a fight, you got one." Cedarstar pounced furiously onto Nightstar, starting to rip out his clotted fur with his claws. As if on command, Lavapool, Badgerstripe, and Smokewhisker sprang for Nightstar too. They were ready to help their leader at any moment. Suddenly, the whole clearing erupted into teeth and claws and furious yowls. Kits to YarrowClan cats were shooed back into the nursery, protective mothers vanishing after them.

Cedarstar yowled angrily at Nightstar, "Your shattered Clan needs to leave! I am certain that half of your Clan would rather stay here than leave with you."

"I beg to differ, Cedarstar. We can restart YarrowClan and strengthen it to unimaginable lengths," he lifted his head in defiance to Cedarstar, "YarrowClan, let's go!"

Only a few cats arose from the dozens of wide eyed warriors. Cedarstar stood, shocked, that so few of Nightstar's warriors would join him again. Only one queen walked to Nightstar's side, his mate, Leafstorm.

She whispered lovingly in his ear, "Come, Nightstar. We can restart YarrowClan and make it the best it could possibly be," she shoved her delicate little nose into his jagged fur, "it can be a Clan of your kin, of your kits, Nightstar."

Nightstar's eyes turned to delighted balls of fire, elated with the news his mate just bestowed upon him. As he started to calm, he called over the cats once again. "Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey, listen to the words I must share. I am returning to the YarrowClan camp and when the spoken cats arrive, we will be ready to take them in or fight them out. YarrowClan will take over this island, the most powerful Clan will live!"

Approving yowls broke out among Nightstar's followers as more cats dragged themselves to Nightstar's side. Cedarstar let his gaze asses the cats whom were leaving, meowing a soft goodbye to all that left. Among the departing cats, he noticed a few that he had become friends. He nuzzled them all in turn and meowed calmly, "Goobye Willowflight, Kestrelfeather, Gorsewhisker, and Beechwind. I will miss you all." As they started to turn away, he called again, "Oh, and Gorsewhisker, thank you for the prophecy, I will be sure to watch the island closely. You all will be forever welcome in ShadeClan."

As the cats made a curt nod and padded away, he turned to the cats who decided to stay. There were so many and they all wanted to be loyal members of ShadeClan. They would have to find a new camp, one big enough for the new ShadeClan, and the leftovers of YarrowClan. Cedarstar looked up at the sky, willing this change to come soon, before ShadeClan drowned under the weight of aggressive, homeless YarrowClan cats.


	2. Chapter 2

Cedarstar walked slowly to the nursery, pushing lightly passed all the cats that were still sleeping on the clearing's floor. Somewhere, a parrot called out and another called back. Cedarstar entered the den uncertainly, not sure if he should bother his mate or not. He looked over at her, his fur feeling hot. She was curled up with one of YarrowClan's queens, Darkrose. He padded over quietly, nudging his muzzle into her side. Her scent bathed over him and he closed his eyes in content. She looked up at him, still in the iron hold of sleep. He licked her ear and whispered, "I just wanted to see you."

She purred and closed her eyes again, letting her head rest back onto Darkrose's flank. The other she-cat twitched in her sleep but did not wake. On the other side of the den, small whispers could be heard. "Who is that cat?" "Did he come to see us?" "I bet I can get a hold of his tail."

Cedarstar turned, a smile forming on his muzzle. "Hello, kittens," he purred. From behind the sleeping queen, a small kitten jumped in surprise. Its pelt was gray with black tabby stripes. He knew that this was the Yarrowclan queen that mated with Cricketwing, his warrior. The kittens didn't seem to be as dumbfounded as their father, who wasn't the smartest cat in the jungle. The queen was alerted from the kitten's sudden movements and she turned her head to Cedarstar. She sighed lightly, "Hello, Cedarstar."

He dipped his head, "Hello, Wavedancer. How are the kittens?"

The queen purred, "As rambunctious as ever. I wish that Cricketwing would come see them." Cedarstar nodded, he knew that the tom wouldn't. Cricketwing probably forgot all about his mate and his kits in the nursery. When Cricketwing was born, he was dead. He stayed dead for about three minutes before Cottenstem brought him back to life. It seemed that the tom had suffered vital brain damage. He sat down next to the queen, brushing his tail along her paws, "What are their names?"

She looked down at her kittens, who were now wrestling in a little clump of fur. "The brown tom is Boarkit, the silver she-kit is Oceankit, and the gray tabby tom is Junglekit." Cedarstar nodded, watching the kittens look up at their mother as she spoke their names. Junglekit batted at Wavedancer's tail, his eyes wide with excitement, "When can we go out and play," he squeaked.

Cedarstar bent down to the kit and whispered, "As soon as the day light patrols send out."

Junglekit tilted his head to the side, "Will my dad be going? "

Cedarstar nodded, "Maybe. If he goes on a hunting patrol, I will tell him to bring you back some food. What is your favorite?"

Junglekit purred, "I like parrots, and magpies too." Boarkit chimed in, "I like magpies too!"

Cedarstar turned to leave, dipping his head to Wavedancer as he left. When he entered the clearing, the cats that were just sleeping were already up and wandering about. Cloudburst was arranging the daylight patrols. He bounded over to his deputy, "I would like to lead a hunting patrol," he meowed. Cloudburst nodded, "Who would you like to take with you?"

Cedarstar thought for a moment, "Acornspots, Brokentree, and Crescentpaw." A small voice called at the back of the group of cats, "I'll come too, Cedarstar." The cat's name was Hollowheart, and she was very aggressive. Cedarstar flattened his ears against his head, "Could you bring your apprentice, Icepaw, too?"

He saw Hollowheart nod, and he sat as Acornspots, Brokentree, and Crescentpaw joined him. He wanted only his warriors to go on this patrol, why had Hollowheart wanted to join? He shook his head; it didn't matter. She was his warrior now, and he had to start accepting them, all of them. Cedarstar dipped his head to Hollowheart and Icepaw as they bounded up. Crescentpaw purred and rubbed her muzzle against Icepaw's, who was purring as well. Hollowheart let out a furious hiss as she padded away through the camp's entrance. Hollowheart felt unnerved, she thought it was disgraceful that her own warriors were falling in love with warriors of another Clan. She couldn't yet understand that she was a part of ShadeClan now.

Cedarstar turned after Hollowheart, the patrol following him out into the jungle. The air was crisp and bird call was everywhere. "Hey! Wait up," Cedarstar called as Hollowheart came into sight. She didn't stop, she just called back, "I'm going to hunt!"

Cedarstar shrugged and turned to the rest of the patrol, "I think we should go towards the old YarrowClan border." No one has lived in YarrowClan territory until recently; the prey should be rich. Cedarstar bounded away, towards the border. The breeze felt good against his whiskers, and he reminded himself to catch the kittens a magpie before he came back to camp. He stopped as they neared the border, and the cats dispersed into different directions. Dozens of parrots were calling to each other, having a conversation no doubt. Cedarstar padded slowly through the jungle, staying parallel to the YarrowClan border. Then, he scented parrot.

He slowly slid back onto his haunches and peered around. It was on the ground, not even two fox lengths away. He struck out with his strong hind legs and landed on the bird, pinning it to the ground. It cried out once before Cedarstar snapped its neck with his teeth. He was just starting to bury the parrot when he hear Crescentpaw's voice. "Cedarstar! Cedarstar, come quick!"

Cedarstar ran to where he heard the apprentice's voice, leaving his prey half-buried. As he neared, he realized the other members of the patrol were with her as well, including Hollowheart. She seemed flustered, and still somewhat steaming with anger. "What is it," Cedarstar asked.

Brokentree meowed, "The YarrowClan border was recently marked, with dozens of new scents. There must be more cats already, but Leafstorm couldn't have had her kits already." Cedarstar started to sniff the border carefully, noticing that it was alive with more than YarrowClan scent. Suddenly, a vast amount of cats started to appear from behind the foliage. There seemed to be enough for dozens of Clans.

Cedarstar went rigid, backing up to his patrol. If these cats were hostile, they would definitely be killed. A black tom with a white patch on his chest stepped forward, dipping his head. "Hello, my name is Ravenstar, and we need your help." Cedarstar let his gaze travel over the group of cats that expanded back far into the shadows. Ravenstar sat down, letting his tail curl over his paws. Cedarstar pricked his ears, new Clans from different territories? This was Gorsewhisker's prophecy!

"What do you need help with," Cedarstar meowed.

"We are Clans from many distant lands beyond. Many different threats have taken over our territories. We from all fourteen different Clans wish to spread ourselves over your island," Ravenstar answered.

Cedarstar couldn't believe what he was hearing! He already had Nightstar's warriors, why would he want to add seven extra Clans to his already humongous Clan.

Ravenstar kept speaking, unsure of Cedarstar's thoughts, "Please. We fourteen Clans have no where possible to go. You have fire mountains that reach down to touch the water. We have kept our camp at the base of one of them. When the fire hits the water, new land is formed! We can all help to expand your territories as a fair show of friendship."

The fourteen Clans yowled in agreement, making the leaves shake on the trees. Cedarstar felt torn; he wanted to help them. He padded over to Ravenstar and whispered, "If you show me the leaders of these Clans and their names, I will help you."

Ravenstar yowled above the other clans, "Everyone separate into your Clans!" The big mass of cats soon broke apart into groups of cats with a very muscular leader in the front of every group.

"Ohkay," Ravenstar meowed, "I am leader of KinderClan." He walked away to a slender she-cat with a creamy white pelt, "This it Froststar of SnowClan." Ravenstar didn't seem thrilled to walk by all of the Clans, so he started flicking his tail in their direction. "That is Shadowstar of SheerClan, Wildstar of FreedomClan, Kestrelstar of RiverClan, Burnstar of ReaperClan, Opalstar of GemClan, Ashstar of CinderClan, Barkstar of BrambleClan, Tawnystar of ShadowClan, Lionstar of ThunderClan, Heatherstar of WindClan, Morningstar of IceClan, Specklestar of RoseClan, RowanStar of ShiftClan, and Ripplestar of SharpClan."

Both Barkstar of Shadowstar left their groups and walked over to Cedarstar, only Barkstar talked, "Hello, I am Barkstar of BrambleClan. Have I seen you before? I swear, we must have seen one another at one point." All Shadowstar did was nod. Cedarstar decided that if he was welcoming any Clans to his, the two she already picked would be Barkstar's and Shadowstar's. Cedarstar walked casually among the other, knowing if any of them wanted to survive they had to joint together with the others. Cedarstar walked past the other twelve Clans and soon got back to her little patrol of five cats.

"I have made my decision! I will joint with BrambleClan, SheerClan, ReaperClan, and KinderClan!" The cats from said Clans broke into approving yowls as the other Clans gathered back into their huddled mess. Barkstar, Shadowstar, Ravenstar, and Burnstar beckoned their Clans with a flick of their tails as they followed Cedarstar back to his camp.


End file.
